Toulouse have made such a flat start to the defence of the Heineken Cup that it is as if their barrel needs changing. Yet they sit at the top of Pool Six after the opening two rounds with a 100% record and a double-header against Glasgow to come.

Fortunate to defeat Wasps on the first weekend, Toulouse were never in any danger of sinking in Newport. They just took a long time to subdue valiant but limited opponents whose playing budget does not allow them, unlike the title holders, to provide adequate cover for injuries.

Toulouse defeated Wasps without conjuring a try and they went in at half-time against the Dragons with only six kicks to show for their dominance. They had worn a complacent air but they showed more urgency after the break following words from their coach, Guy Novès.

"He changed a few things," said the Toulouse scrum-half, Byron Kelleher, one of several leading players rested from the starting line-up. "The Heineken Cup gets stronger every year. There are six or seven teams who are a wee bit in front of the rest, but if you do not watch it on the day those other teams can roll you over.

"Sides, especially in France, have strengthened and it comes down not just to the coaches and the players but the budget. It's about being able to purchase players and very often sides are under pressure to perform immediately but you need three or four years together."

The Dragons cannot compete with Toulouse financially. Rodney Parade is a throwback to the amateur days, an old-fashioned stadium into which a few hospitality boxes have been shoehorned. Reconstruction work starts tomorrow, finally, in what the region hopes will be a prelude to having the means to fortify the squad.

The Dragons head coach, Paul Turner, acknowledged that Toulouse had probably the strongest squad in Europe. He was relying on virtues like spirit and graft, but when Toulouse raised the pace of the game in the second-half, the home side did not have such a responsive accelerator. The 19-40 score line may have suggested a blitz, but it was more of a strafe.

Turner was perplexed at some of the referee Andrew Small's decisions. Both sides had a player sin-binned in the opening period and each could have had at least one more given 10 minutes off. "We were on the savage end of a huge penalty count," he said. "It seemed we did not come out of the right end of any decisions."

Toulouse finished looking for the bonus point their overall performance did not merit. "Sometimes being expected to win can be a negative," said Kelleher. Never more so than in January 2009 when Toulouse lost at home to Glasgow and forfeited a home draw in the quarter-finals. "We have not forgotten that. You never assume anything in this tournament."